Reactions Trails Sen Saraki's Call for Sale of Nigeria's Assets

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday itemised measures he said the Executive must take to take Nigeria out of recession.

The measures include the partial sale of the Nigeria LNG Limited and the reduction of government shares in upstream oil joint venture operations.

He also recommended the sale of government’s stakes in financial institutions like the

Africa Finance Corporation and the privatisation and concession of major/regional airports and refineries to private operators.

Saraki made the suggestions in his welcome address, which he read to colleagues at the resumption of plenary.

According to him, the current economic recession transcends political parties, as well as religious and socio-cultural divides.

The Senate president noted that the economic problem facing the nation was a collective problem and should be treated as such.

He stressed that the Executive must begin to take steps to show Nigerians and the international community as well as local and foreign investors that the nation is ready to reform and do business.

But the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress faulted the call by Saraki and others for the sale of some national assets.

The NLC General-Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, and TUC President, Mr. Bala Kaigama, stated this in separate telephone interviews with The Punch on Tuesday, while reacting to the call.

Ozo-Eson and Kaigama said that those in the forefront of the move to sell the national assets were being motivated by a desire to acquire them.

Ozo-Eson advised the key players in the President Buhari administration to avoid taking advantage of the economic situation to loot the remaining national assets in the country.

He insisted that acquisition of national assets by those in power was partly responsible for the current economic situation in the country.

The NLC general-secretary said, “Selling national assets is not going to cure the economy. Part of the crisis we are in is as a result of the national assets they distributed to themselves.

“They should not use the economic situation as a pretext for looting what is left of the public assets. Selling the NLNG, airports and all those other assets will not be the way to bail out the economy from this crisis. It will rather compound it as has been demonstrated by what they did with power, and other assets.

“We are opposed to the sale of those assets because they just want to take them over the way they have taken over the power sector and it is not functioning. So, that cannot be the excuse. We are opposed to it.”